Simple and compound meter

Definitions of simple and compound meters

Simple meter (or simple time) is a meter where each beat in a measure can be subdivided by two.

Compound meter (or compound time) is a meter where each beat in a measure can be subdivided by three.

Meters classifications

Meters can be classified into simple meters and compound meters, and as duple, triple, and quadruple meters.

Duple meter: the measure (bar ) is divisible by two beats.
Triple meter: the measure (bar) is divisible by three beats.
Quadruple meter: the measure (bar) is divisible by four beats.

So for example:


A simple duple meter refers to a measure that contains 2 beats and each beat can be subdivided by 2.
A compound quadruple meter refers to a measure that contains 4 beats and each beat can be subdivided by 3.

Example of simple meter

In this example, beats are divided by two (2): One beat can contain 2

Example of compound meter

In this example, beats are divided by three (3): One beat can contain 3

Time signature of simple meters

Here are time signatures of simple meters:

	Value of 1 beat
1 beat per measure	1/1	1/2	1/4	1/8	1/16	1/32	1/64
simple duple	2/1	2/2	2/4	2/8	2/16	2/32	2/64
simple triple	3/1	3/2	3/4	3/8	3/16	3/32	3/64
simple quadruple	4/1	4/2	4/4	4/8	4/16	4/32	4/64
simple quintuple	5/1	5/2	5/4	5/8	5/16	5/32	5/64
and so on...	and so on...

Here are most common time signatures of simple meters:

	Value of 1 beat
1 beat per measure
simple duple		2/2	2/4	2/8
simple triple		3/2	3/4	3/8
simple quadruple		4/2	4/4	4/8
simple quintuple			5/4

Time signature of compound meters

Here are time signatures of compound meters:

	Value of 1 beat
1 beat per measure	3/2	3/4	3/8	3/16	3/32	3/64	3/128
compound duple	6/2	6/4	6/8	6/16	6/32	6/64	6/128
compound triple	9/2	9/4	9/8	9/16	9/32	9/64	9/128
compound quadruple	12/2	12/4	12/8	12/16	12/32	12/64	12/128
compound quintuple	15/2	15/4	15/8	15/16	15/32	15/64	15/128
and so on...	and so on...

Here are most common time signatures of compound meters:

	Value of 1 beat
1 beat per measure			3/8
compound duple			6/8
compound triple			9/8
compound quadruple			12/8
compound quintuple			15/8